Delma, I LOVE THESE IDEAS!!!! Thank you so much, I will certainly follow these steps for all my baking fun to come. Thanks again. Syl
"Keep your heart open to dreams. For as long as there's a dream, there is hope, and as long as there is hope, there is joy in living." Sylvia Lopez ----- Original Message ----- From: "delma bliss" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:;> Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:11 AM Subject: [RecipesAndMore] Cookie Tips For The Holiday's > > Hi, To you all > With the Holiday's coming up around the corner, > I thought this would be good to post. > Delma > > Go Cookie Crazy > Christmas just isn't Christmas without sugar cookies: > Tucked cozily into a warm kitchen, > apron dusted with flour, > fingers sticky with five colors of frosting, > tummy aching from sampling one too many of the wares, > & heart content > from inhaling that buttery, comforting aroma of fresh cookies > & spending time with the people you love. > With our tips for cutting, decorating & packing for the mail, > you'll delight everyone > with batches of your most beautiful & tantalizing cookies yet. > > Rolling & Cutting. > You will find cookie dough much easier to work with > after it's been refrigerated for at least half an hour. > Keep cookie cutters from sticking to the dough > by misting them very lightly with cooking spray. > If you're cutting out delicate or large shapes, > save them from falling apart by rolling out the dough on parchment paper, > lifting off the scraps, > then sliding the paper directly onto a baking sheet. > > Frosting. > One popular frosting for sugar cookies > is a simple glaze of confectioners' sugar & either milk or fruit juice. > By adjusting the ratio of liquid to sugar, > you can make this glaze as thick or as thin as you'd like. > Royal icing is another option: > it dries to a hard, crunchy finish > & also holds up well in the mail. > Buttercream frosting is soft & thick; tasty, > but not good if you plan to stack the cookies. > Instead of frosting, > you can also dip half or all of a cookie in > chocolate & then in chopped nuts or crushed candy canes. > > Other Decorating Ideas. > Instead of frosting, you can decorate the cookies before you bake them! > Sprinkle on coarse colored sugar, nuts, colored sprinkles, silver dragees > or > other small candies,. Alternatively, make colorful designs on the unbaked > cookies by painting them with a mixture of egg yolks beaten together with > food coloring. The finished cookie will be bright and glossy. > > > * Mailing. When making cut-out cookies for mailing, choose fairly sturdy > shapes without too many small protrusions. Pack decorated, dry cookies in > a > flat, sturdy container with a tight-fitting lid. Lay down a selection of > cookie shapes in a single layer, fitting them together as closely as > possible. Now pile more cookies into the container, stacking same-shape > cookies on top of each other. When the container is full, put wadded-up > pieces of wax paper or unbuttered popcorn into any empty spaces, then seal > the lid. Wrap the container in bubble wrap, then pack it into a box that > is > further padded with foam peanuts. The cookies should arrive fresh and > beautiful and full of home-baked love. > > Dough Mix the ingredients together carefully and quickly. Do not over > beat the dough, or you will have tough, even rubbery cookies. Always chill > the dough before rolling it out. This prevents the dough from being too > sticky to roll. Divide the dough into halves or thirds for faster > chilling. > To save time, chill in the freezer for 20 minutes. If the dough, after > removing from the freezer/refrigerator, is too stiff to roll out, let it > stand at room temperature until it softens a bit. For those of you who > like > to plan ahead, you may freeze the dough for up to 3 weeks. > > Roll 'em! > Of course, this is the fun part. > Grab those kids you invited, & get them working! > Be sure to > roll dough out to the suggested thickness in the recipe you are using. > Don't be shy with the ruler. > Using a ruler to measure the thickness > ensures that all the dough is the same for consistent baking times. > It's a good idea to roll it out on a lightly floured surface; > however, you may also roll the dough between pieces of parchment paper. > Cut dough with cookie cutters dipped in flour > to avoid sticking. > Make cutouts as close together as possible. > Re-roll scraps left from the cutouts to cut more cookies. > At times, re-rolling can result in tough cookie dough. > However, re-rolling on a surface > dusted with equal parts flour & confectioners' sugar will toughen it less. > Using a metal spatula, transfer the dough onto baking sheets > lined with parchment paper. > Parchment saves you from having to wash the cookie sheet. > Often a greased cookie sheet can cause > the cookies to run out, & be too thin. > For these reasons, we use parchment paper. > Before placing your beautiful creations in the oven, > consider decorating them with nuts, raisins, or chocolate candy. > Bake cookies until lightly browned > around the edges. > > Fresh from the Oven > Once they are out of the oven, > let them cool completely before you decorate or store them. > Hopefully, you will have some cookies left, > after all the covert operations by those little elves! > Get creative with the icing; vanilla is not the only flavoring available. > Gingerbread is really good with lemon or chocolate icing.Try almond or > orange flavoring, > or get wild & try amaretto or orange liqueur. > Decorating cookies is the part to look forward to. > Make sure you have put some time aside to really be able to get creative. > We > have come up with a few ideas of our own. > Make cookies to hang on the tree for people to pick & eat. > Before baking, poke a hole using a drinking straw. > Afterwards, tie on some ribbon or wire,& > voila, a beautiful and edible ornament! > Use a pastry bag to pipe your loved one's name, or > a short Christmas greeting. > Use colored sugars, edible glitter, jimmies, or any kind > of sugar decoration your heart desires. > Sandwich two identical cookies with icing & decorate top with icing & > colored sugar. > Pop 'em in Your Mouth > We know that most of you will eat half of them before > you ever get around to giving them away, or even decorating them. > Some of you may eat half of them before they > ever become formed into shapes to be baked! > Remember to save some for your friends & family. > Make it extra-festive by > placing them in a vintage tin, or a rustic basket. > It should be fun, not work. > Here's the good news: > You can freeze most baked cookies up to 2 weeks. They taste > delicious frozen or zap 'em in the microwave for 30 to 50 seconds. > The End > > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.8/455 - Release Date: 9/22/2006 > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Access the Recipes And More list archives at: http://www.mail-archive.com/recipesandmore%40googlegroups.com/ Visit the group home page at: http://groups.google.com/group/RecipesAndMore -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
